49ER COACH'S TACTIC HELPS NULLIFY TAYLOR

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Before Bill Walsh, the 49ers' tactician and head coach, came to Candlestick Park today, he had devised an offensive scheme designed to take advantage of the skill of the Giant defense.

It was an odd way to attack a team; most coaches would seek weaknesses in an opponent's game. But Walsh's methods had been very successful, since they had helped the 49ers win 14 National Football League games this season, more than any other team, and today would be no different.

Walsh was concerned about Lawrence Taylor, the Giants' intimidating rookie, who is a great pass rusher and an uncanny pursuer in the open field. ''They blitz him or somebody on almost every play,'' Walsh said.

'Taylor Was Nullified'

To counter that, Walsh assigned the guard John Ayers, his best blocker, to defend against Taylor on pass plays. And on running plays, Walsh called for his tight end to anticipate Taylor's pursuit and wait for him. As a result, Taylor was ineffective for much of the game; he managed only two tackles (with three assists) and a sack. As Walsh said, ''Taylor was nullified.''

Although this was only a small part of the plan, it illustrated the frustration that the Giants' defense experienced all afternoon. From the start, the 49er receivers succeeded, most notably Fred Solomon, who played but was suffering from a bruised heel in the regular-season game between the teams, and Jim Clark, who led the team with 85 catches.

The first play, called a 33 halfback flat, netted 16 yards for Clark and set the tone. By the end of the first quarter, the quarterback Joe Montana had completed 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns. And he had made it look easy.

''I'd never seen us execute like that before,'' Montana said later. ''That's why it didn't look tough for us. But it was. Our line was stopping them, and when I got that time, things become easy. Passes Set Up Ground Game

Walsh said that it was a day when the pass set up the run for the 49ers.

''We knew we were going to pass and pass a lot early,'' said Clark, who caught 5 passes for 104 yards. Solomon caught 6 for 107. The 49ers did pass, and with great success. Montana had his best day as a pro, completing 20 of 31 passes for 305 yards and 2 touchdowns. And the 49ers scored more points, 31 of their 38, and gained more yards, 423, than any other team h ad against the Giants defense all season.

''Our execution was as good as it has been since I've been with the 49ers,'' said Walsh, who is in his third season as San Francisco's coach. ''It took that to beat this defense.''

The Candlestick Park field is known as the worst in the league. It is natural grass that has been placed over a surface that was artificial turf just two years ago. As a result, large pieces of muddy earth regularly move about during plays. A rehabilitation plan was tried, but no one knew whether it would be a success. Pass Pattern Yields Gains

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Members of the Giants' secondary had expresed concern over the condition of the field. Once the game began, their tentativeness was evident. One pattern that worked effectively against them was called ''circle and go,'' a move that calls for the receiver to run a circle near his defender, then take off downfield.

Clark ran that pattern several times, and made receptions of 11, 22, and 16 yards in the first quarter against the Giant cornerback Terry Jackson.

''We found out that they run a lot of zone,'' Clark said. ''Or they like to make it look like a zone, then I would turn around and it would be man-to-man.''

To counter the uncertainty of the Giant coverage, Walsh devised some deception of his own by changing formations, varying the movements and depth of his running backs and distorting his own alignments. More than once, a 49er receiver would find canyon-like gaps in the Giant secondary.

''They run a basi c defense,'' Walsh said after the game. ''They line up with great personnel and just make the defensive plays. They have no weakn esses. We didn't want them to get their balance.'' Mistakes by the Secondary

The Giants' defense attained a bit of success in the third quarter, holding the 49ers to only three first downs after they made 15 in the first half. But on its second possession of the fourth quarter, San Francisco mixed the run and the pass with precision and scored on a 3-yard run by Bill Ring for a 31-17 lead.

The 49ers' secondary made some uncharacteristic mistakes, most notably a judgment error by the rookie conerback Ronnie Lott, who attempted to intercept a Scott Brunner pass to Johnny Perkins. He failed and the play went for a 59-yard touchdown. Lott, however, did make two interceptions.

''I think our secondary is playing a little overconfident,'' Walsh said later. ''Maybe it's healthy that something like this happened.'' ''That took away some of our confidence,'' he said. ''But I think we took away a little bit of theirs.''

A version of this article appears in print on January 4, 1982, on Page C00004 of the National edition with the headline: 49ER COACH'S TACTIC HELPS NULLIFY TAYLOR. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe